Alex Poltera is the executive chef at Fern Hill Hotel in the KZN Midlands. Cook each element of a dish with care and love, he says, and the final product will always be good. Cook each element of a dish with care and love, he says, and the final product will always be good.What is in your fridge?Olives, pesto, artichoke hearts and 10 different varieties of chilli sauce from around South Africa, among other things.The most annoying eaters?Gluten-intolerant people who don't know what gluten is.Dumbest thing you have ever done in a kitchen?Set my dishcloth on fire without realising it, subsequently setting my apron alight.A piece of food-related travel advice.Sooner sleep on a mattress on the floor than not have money for decent food.Worst diet you've ever tried?N/AGuilty pleasure?Woolworths malt Chuckles.What dish would you never try to master or have never been able to master?I will always try to master everything that interests me. Embarrassingly, I still, to this day, can't master the folding of a basic omelette.Who do you dream of cooking for and what would you make them?Paul Bocuse or Michel Roux Jnr. I would make them something simple, yet perfect and delicious.If you could eat only one food or dish for the rest of your life what would it be?Artichoke hearts.What food item would never be seen in your house?Premix cakes or desserts, and margarine.What food are you currently craving?Bovril toast.The oddest food request you've ever had?Eggs Benedict with fried banana, pineapple and extra mayo. Together...